Animals

Animals

The ‘Mekong ghost’ megafish has resurfaced after an extinction scare 

Rediscovery of giant salmon carp in Cambodia sparks hope for the rare fish’s survival and efforts to conserve one of the greatest diversity hot spots.

Life

How insects can help catch rhino poachers

A new study looks at which insects can be used as biological clocks to determine when a rhino was killed.

Animals

Polar bears are being exposed to more pathogens as the climate warms

Polar bears have been exposed to more viruses, bacteria and parasites in recent decades, a new study shows, possibly acquiring the germs in their diet.

Animals

Science has finally cracked male riflebirds’ flirty secrets

New video upsets the old notion that these birds of paradise use wing clapping to make percussive sounds while courting.

Animals

At-home experiments shed light on cats’ liquid behavior

Cats can flow like liquids through tall crevices, but they solidify a bit as they approach short crannies, new research shows.

Animals

DNA from old hair helps confirm the macabre diet of two 19th century lions

Genetic analysis of cavity crud from two famed man-eating lions suggests the method could re-create diets of predators that lived thousands of years ago.

Paleontology

The largest arthropod to ever live finally has a head 

Fossils of an extinct giant millipede reveal new details about the arthropod’s anatomy.

Animals

To tell a right-trunked elephant from a lefty, check the wrinkles

Elephant trunks, more sci-fi face-tentacle than ho-hum mammal nose, are getting new scrutiny as researchers explore how the wrinkles grow.

Animals

These sea creatures can fuse their bodies

A species of comb jelly can fuse its body with another jelly after injury. Some of the pair’s body functions then synchronize.

Animals

Some tadpoles don’t poop for weeks. That keeps their pools clean

Eiffinger’s tree frog babies store their solid waste in an intestinal pouch, releasing less ammonia into their watery cribs than other frog species.

Animals

Dolphins’ open-mouth behaviors during play are like smiles, a study claims

Experts urge caution in calling bottlenosed dolphins’ gesture a humanlike “smile,” but agree it seems to be important for how the animals communicate.

Animals

Coyotes have the face muscles for that ‘sad-puppy’ look

The ability to make heart-melting stares may not be the fruit of dog domestication if their still-wild cousins have the power to do it too.